Following a phenomenal 2014 tour and sell-out runs at both the Edinburgh International Festival and London’s Sadler’s Wells, INALA brings together four time Grammy Award-winning South African choral legends, Ladysmith Black Mambazo and multi-award winning chorographer Mark Baldwin, in this unique artistic collaboration for a creatively reworked production that starts a UK tour from June 2015.
INALA, meaning ‘abundance of goodwill’ in Zulu, delivers a spiritually uplifting live experience, powered by a cultural explosion of music, song and dance. Featuring world-class current and former dancers from The Royal Ballet and Rambert, this critically acclaimed production embraces an exhilarating fusion of South African and Western cultures live on stage, to create a unique, immersive experience that reflects both cultures.
INALA’s original score is composed by Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Joseph Shabalala and British composer Ella Spira, who created the concept of INALA with First Artist of the Royal Ballet Pietra Mello-Pittman. Blending the intricate rhythms and infectious harmonies of their native musical roots with live percussion, piano and strings, Mark Baldwin’s choreography unites Zulu traditions with classical ballet and contemporary dance, performed by an exceptional company of 18 dancers and singers.
Pietra Mello-Pittman says: “INALA is influenced by Zulu dancing and South African stories and cultures, creating a new language of dance that respects the traditions of ‘pure’ classical dance training of all our dancers”.
Ella Spira says: “The group had never annotated its music before, so writing the score for INALA was in itself a challenge, but the passion and culture of Ladysmith soars through and brings the narrative of the ballet to life”.
Ladysmith Black Mambazo were brought to international acclaim through their collaboration with Paul Simon on his 1986 album, ‘Graceland’. They went on to win four Grammy Awards, including their latest in January 2014 for Best World Music Album.
Joseph Shabalala says: “It has always been our mission our spread our South African culture as widespread as possible, so it is very important for us to bring INALA to the UK and the rest of the world. We look forward to giving our audiences a new experience.
Inala is coming to Nottingham Royal Concert Hall Tuesday 30th and Wednesday 1st July
